deercountry | late bloomer jokes [feb catchall

Entry tags:

late bloomer jokes [feb catchall - open & closed prompts]

Who: Manabu & others
What: Misc hijinks
When: February
Where: Misc locations

Content Warnings: Will be marked in tls/comments as needed

February is weird. Manabu feels...weird. He's always an impatient kind of person, needing to always be moving somewhere or doing something, but this is a different kind of impatience. More and more, he's noticing the way couples interact, double-taking at public displays of affection which he'd typically fluster and look the other way at. He pines for a lot of things here in Trench: his family, his coworkers, his job... but he's not used to pining for things like...y'know, hand-holding.

So goes Manabu Yuuki's 24-year old awakening to romantic pining; it's going to be coloring a lot of the month for him! And that's weird and confusing for him, so you bet this'll be coloring the way he interacts with folks he runs into! Lots of word spaghetti, lots of hair frizzing with static, and some apple-red cheeks...at least he has the cold weather to blame for that.

...Even if he's a coldblood.

Shut up. It's nothing!!!

open prompts

o1. Willful Machine: Errands and Odd Jobs
[regardless of these roiling, blood-based feelings throwing him off his game, Manabu still throws himself into work of all sorts. he does errands and handiwork around the Roost for Diluc, but also picks up the occasional odd job for locals - Sleepers and natives alike. he's a jack of many trades and definitely master of none, but what he lacks in expertise he makes up with patience and determination.

perhaps you see him replacing tiles on a store's roof, or maybe he's hauling a wagon full of winter supplies, or part of a small squad lifting some heavy furniture by pulley up to a second floor, or simply carrying someone's groceries! either way, prime encounter opportunity.

also, Magnet is always there: that little mutt's noisy, but friendly, and always apt to bounding away from Manabu to sniff out a friend or potential friend...or at least some pets.]

o2.The Gate: Gunswordplay
[maybe it's too much to bank on, but smacking around the unsnake last month's given Manabu a boost of combat confidence (never mind the concussions)! that said, he definitely needs to get better at this gravity saber business; swords are really archaic, but seem to be quite a common thing here! and look, he wouldn't admit it, but he wants to be cool with the swords, too.

here Manabu can be found a couple hours before sundown after busy workdays, stretching and then trying to master balanced, repeated strikes on dummies with slashes or sparks of flame...boring stuff, but he knows it builds results. still, if anyone's itching to spar, he'll jump at that.]

o3. Gaze: Research
[if things are too slow as far as work goes, Manabu will veer off and go to the Archives - a place he actually hasn't made a point to visit much before! he's not a big studying kind of guy, but he knows the plans he has in mind require a lot more research and thought than just running on hunches and rumors.

also? he wants maps. an atlas feels like a reach, but if he can cobble together some maps...

so that's what he's up to: cringing and veering away from ickier aisles of oddities, picking at the spines of assorted books in increasingly lessening hope.

what's it take to find a map of the world around this place...!?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[he hesitates, still plainly wrestling with what the real "right" thing to do is here - what he wants, what he thinks matters more, all that. it helps to put his eyes down a pathway toward the former while still wrestling with the latter.]

...We still...need to know. [right?] What else is out there. Who else is out there. [he looks over to Diluc for that affirmation. this can be what he wants and the right thing to do...right?]

Yes we do. I suspect part of what makes it difficult is we do not know how often monsters have attacked.

In the wild as we both know, any traveling party is vulnerable. And this time of year might be the worst to try scouting with those Unsnakely around.

[He gestures for Manabu to follow him as he heads for the Hunter report journals.] It would be interesting to see if there’s any notes on Blood corruption and how it got worse over time. Once we establish if there’s any mention of other places in their journals.

[Manabu follows along, scanning the spines along the shelf with an increasing feeling of futility. this is very old-school, and more than that? most don't have any indication of what they're even about; this could take forever!

dubiously:] There's no...database outlining the contents of all of these. Is there. Any Omni-tech to catalog?

Not that I know of. It wouldn't be a bad idea to start one, I suppose. I've been keeping relevant notes in a small ledger but even that will get unwieldy over time. [Diluc says as he takes a journal from the shelf. He opens it and scans the pages. He flips through it until he comes to words that catch his eye. 'Monster attacks damaging our paths.'

He taps it.] ...I almost forgot.

[He murmurs half to himself. Then he shakes his head.] Monsters in the wild look to be a problem with possible trade and even just hunter patrol paths. ...it was like that for us in Mondstadt when Ursa the Drake was menacing our city.

Which explains the boats from a few months ago, right? They were loaded. [...] With food, but...no people. No logs. [he sighs.] Unless...someone got to them before me or anyone else.

But there's gotta be a threshold out the other way. Other places. People. It's a whole planet out there, you know?

And the sea is seen as the place we come from. So possibly they assume the sea is a blessed place of safety.

[He puts the book back on the shelf and pulls out his journal. He flips the pages back and says,] There we’re some people. They were attacked some how. I couldn’t discern the attacker.

But it wasn’t the pirates.

You saw them? [his eyebrows lift, fixing his attention on Diluc fully.] What...did they look like? Clothes, badges...

[Diluc nods. Then he lifts his fingers. His magic roses around him, pulled tight like a cloak. Ice forms on his hair and face in uneven patches. He matches it to how he had looked when leaning further into corruption. He pulls his magic about him like a cloak.

Icy horns curl up out of his hair. The ice turns solid black. He looks like someone suffering corruption and on the verge of beasthood. It’s just an overlay. Very, very thin ice but it is meant to give a visual.]

My memories of it are foggy. It was right after I emerged from the sea. They didn’t have any badges. Their clothes were battered and mangled.

All of them were corrupted and nearing beasthood. For reference, this is a warning sign for you about myself. If I start looking more and more draconic, you should be wary. I am corrupted and getting worse.

I suspect I will be something truly terrible if I fall. I promise I will do all I can to avoid it.

[Manabu bristles and recoils a step, bumping his shoulder against the nearby shelf. he was not expecting an actual, magical demonstration! just like...a drawing? a wordy description? dang, Diluc!

he gulps and double-blinks, plainly unnerved, but he's no coward! he'll stand there and gawk a few beats before words hit in and explain that this is the explanation. his expression grows more grim and concerned as Diluc's words shift from talking about 'them' and to himself.]

...

[...]

So...even before they got here...things were already turning bad for them...

[Diluc shakes his head. The ice melts away and fades to nothing as he says,] The ships that came to the shore were different. They lacked an armory and the holding rooms that the pirates had. Everything was stored carefully.

No. I think those ships were merchant ships. I couldn't find any manifests but the layout of the cargo was like any I'd personally overseen. Whatever attacked them left barely any traces of itself. I'll look into local reports because I know the hunters said something about it at the time.

I don't recall if that's one of the months things were...complicated for us Coldbloods.

[with Diluc looking more himself again, Manabu's posture relaxes, and he exhales a bit. still, a frown pulls on his mouth and his brow creases as he hears Diluc's account; he folds his arms.

with a bit of a scoff:] One of the months? [he squints.] You mean you're skating by easily now?

I consider not having to fight myself to keep from attacking vile and Warm bloods an easier time, yes. [He glances to the side at the shelves. Then he takes out his journal and leafs back through the pages. He taps the page.]

But, talk to me about what’s going on with you. I haven’t noticed anything strange this month. I could be missing it and that’s likely. I imagine anyone who has anxiety would miss a month we were influenced to be so.

That’s just an example.

[he rubs the back of his head, looking down at the journal in Diluc's hands.]

I dunno, it...feels more like something's been messing with my head lately. Getting me stirred up over dumb stuff. Not--not like starting punch-outs in the street, at least! But just...

[...,]

Weird stuff.

[The journal notes in a short notes what influences he felt. Dread and anxiety he couldn’t explain the first month. Whispers that were in a language he couldn’t understand.

Unexplained hostility to vile and warm bloods. People feeling comfortable and cozy around him. Diluc watches him with a patient stare.]

Define the ‘weird stuff’. You do seem a bit warier.

You can't blame wariness, can you? Like, weird stuff or not... [that seems justified to him!

he huffs, turning away, strolling down the rows of nameless spines before poking at one or two.]

I don't know. I just know...I'm off. Thinking about stupid stuff. That's why I gotta stay focused on this, because this kind of thing is way more important, you know?

[He stares at him. Stupid stuff. What the hell does he mean? Polite. He has to be-]

I’m afraid I don’t follow. Could you explain what you’re finding yourself straying to?

I assure you we will continue our discussion of charting and monsters but, I’d like to know what you’re getting at.

[hhhhh. why can't stupid stuff just translate properly without any further explanation or judgment.

he buys himself some time by rubbing at his face and pacing away a couple feet.]

I, I dunno! [not true. he grimaces.] I mean-- [hhh.] I can't stop...thinking about...how other people are getting along. [...] Together, I guess. C-coupled up.

[he whirls around quickly to emphatically make clear:] Which is fine! It's good, actually! That's...how people operate, right? Needing other people. [he starts to wither with a wincing expression.]

That's just...not how I get to operate. For a lot of reasons. And that shouldn't bother me, but I'm bothered. [his eyebrow twitches, aware of the feeling of static creeping under his skin and fluffing his hair.] And it's messing with my head! Okay?

Stupid stuff.

[Silence. Diluc sets his journal down on the nearby table and crosses his arms. Then thinks back. He had been reluctant to go further with Kaeya until...

He nods to himself once. What's done is done and he has no regrets. He says out loud.] Interesting.

[He holds a hand up to forestall any reply. He needs a moment to order his thoughts.] This does seem like a blood influence. I'll have to ask around but, this seems to support my thought that we're just being influenced by the gods acting out their own stories.

A month we're told about Bonds and how to make them, and then feelings such as these. As you said, there's nothing wrong with them. But you don't have a choice about having thoughts about the idea.

[bonds...right...

Manabu exhales in a huff.]

I don't know whether or not I should be glad it's not my fault... I'm getting sick of being jerked around by other people, you know?

[Diluc closes the distance between them and gently grips Manabu’s shoulder. He gives it a light squeeze as he quietly says,]

I know. It is upsetting and rage inducing. We can’t change it or even convince them to stop. All we can do is live with it and that isn’t fair.

Remember you’re not alone. Remember who you are. If you need to burn off energy we can do more lessons. With weapons or magic. Or anything else you wish to learn from me. Hard to think when you’re too exhausted to stand.

[there's an inevitable and involuntary bristle to being touched without warning, leaving Manabu stuck tensely in place as his heartrate spikes. still, he willfully gulps his heart back down, ears stinging a little with Diluc's words.]

Mn... [...] I can't exactly...do my best for everyone like this, either. I need to...be better at handling things. And that only works if I practice, right?

[he turns his head slightly. it's his blind eye's side, but he can still get a sense of Diluc behind him.]

I need to get better with that saber, you know. If I'm going to be able to make it out on the perimeter or further.

My apologizes, I mean additional lessons on top of the ones we are already doing. You are doing well so far, and I do want to push you a little because I know you can do even better.

Only a little bit of a push, I will begin to change what weapons I use against you. The more practice you have against other weapons and how to repel them, the better.

[He won’t be a terrible arms master and use his best first. A spear and a bow, wouldn’t be bad. Or an axe. He lets go of him, giving him a little more space. He’s felt him tense.]

With your permission, of course.

[he gives out a soft affirmative, looking back ahead.]

Absolutely. Between you and Childe...I should be able to make some good headway, keep ahead of this crap.

[That makes him pause and there is a visible recalculation going on his head.] What has Childe taught you so far?

Just curious. [Bullshit. Diluc is reshuffling proverbial papers on his head. He schemes as much as any other tactically minded person among his friends.

One reason of many he is so dangerous.]

[Manabu takes a step away, clearing the hand before turning back around to look at Diluc.]

Mostly footing and precision exercises. Says it'll make more sense for a thin weapon with projectiles.

That makes sense, right? It does to me...

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thought i hit this back. Sorry bout that!

no worries c:

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